Coming off a 4-8 season, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops didn’t mince words about what lies ahead for his program
“You know how tough it is to coach and survive in this league. I’ve been very proud of the growth and the progress we’ve made. This last year, we hit a little hiccup, and I’m not very proud of that. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get us back on track.” Stoops said on ESPN. “Our team needs to get bigger, needs to get stronger, mentally tougher.”
Stoops, 57, took over at UK in 2013 after coach Joker Phillips went 2-10. Stoops won 10 games in 2018 — something UK had not done since 1977 — and again in 2021.
“Going into my 13th year, what you do realize is the urgency that you know what needs to be done today. There is so much to do. We’re attacking it with our players, there’s weightlifting, there’s the mental toughness, there’s the fourth quarter drills coming up,” Stoops said.
“But also, with our coaches, like, what are we doing right? How can we continue to build on that? Where do we fall short? How do we get that corrected? There’s just a lot to do.”
Stoops said he was not proud of his team’s lack of toughness and discipline last year.
“Those are things we gotta get back to, the foundation, the roots of who we are. Be tough, be physical, be accountable to each other,” Stoops said.
The problem for Stoops is that UK’s 2025 schedule looks even more difficult as the Cats host Texas and Tennessee, playoff teams in 2024, and play at Georgia, another 2024 playoff team. UK hosts Ole Miss and plays at South Carolina, two teams that were close to making the playoffs. The November schedule has games at Auburn, Vanderbilt and Louisville along with a home game with Florida.
